First Annual Bitcoin Women’s Day is Coming this Sunday
For all the ladies out there, Sunday, March 8th is going to be a very special day. For over 100 years, the world has celebrated International Women’s Day , and now the Bitcoin community will celebrate the first annual Bitcoin Women’s Day. This will shine a light on the integration and accomplishments of women within the Bitcoin community, and also to spurn the growth for women to begin using Bitcoin more.
A recent poll done by 99bitcoins.com shows that less than 8% of Bitcoin users are female, so there is plenty of room for growth and improvement with the largest demographic in the world. In other words, the timing couldn’t be better for the first ever Bitcoin Women’s Day. Major sponsorship for this event includes BitPay, The Digital Currency Council, The Bitcoin Foundation, TatianaCoin, ChangeTip, The Chamber of Digital Currency, and many others leaders in the Bitcoin community.
Bitcoin Women’s Day is for all people new to Bitcoin
In that light, I interviewed BWD Organizer Sarah Boone Martin about the upcoming event and what it means for Bitcoin’s growth going forward. Can anyone enjoy Bitcoin Women’s Day? Or is it a time for everyone to talk to people outside of the Bitcoin ecosystem, and help just to get them started.
Can you briefly go over the history of International Women’s Day and Bitcoin Women’s Day, and your involvement in this celebration?
“March 8th is the launch of Bitcoin Women’s Day, a global campaign to champion women’s achievements in digital currency. Leading Bitcoin firms around the world are joining the annual celebration of women: International Women’s Day. Like #GivingTuesday, public and private sector partners like Google, the UN, and Care International come together on Twitter and Facebook in blog posts and digital media for International Women’s Day to support women’s successes. This year’s theme is “Make It Happen.
As far as how I became involved, I’m the CEO of Boone Martin, a global communications firm. I’m running Bitcoin Women’s Day on behalf of the DCC and will be coordinating the outreach with my partners between now and Sunday. I was very impressed with how Connie Gallippie put together #BitcoinGivingTuesday. I supported #GivingTuesday for Bitcoin Against Ebola. When I saw International Women’s Day coming up, I thought ‘Hey, here’s a great opportunity to spread the word about Bitcoin while celebrating women in our industry!’ It all happened very quickly: I picked up the phone, called Elizabeth and Victoria, and they said, yes let’s do it!”
For those unfamiliar, can you provide a couple of examples of instances where women have been instrumental in the advancement of Bitcoin?
“Just take a look the ladies leading Bitcoin Women’s Day. BitPay’s Elizabeth Ploshay, ChangeTip’s Victoria Van Eyk, the Bitcoin Foundation’s Jinyoung Englund, the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s Perianne Boring, and Tatiana Coin founder Tatiana Moroz. These are the women who are building out the ecosystem, each from their unique professional expertise in business, nonprofits, advocacy, and the arts. When I approached the Digital Currency Council about launching this campaign, there was no question in my mind that these were the smart, successful women that I needed by my side.”
Are there any particular issues standing in between women and the Bitcoin community? Are you finding women very open to using Bitcoin?
“I can’t speak for all women, but or me, the thing I found challenging in Bitcoin was getting up to speed quickly on a new and complex industry. I spent months scouring the internet and bugging out on YouTube videos. Though my ad hoc Bitcoin MBA ended up okay, when the DCC opened last fall with one-stop-shopping for training and even networking, I thought finally. People have it a lot easier today. You can even get professionally certified.”
What would help greater adoption of Bitcoin for women, in general? What would you like to see added to the Bitcoin ecosystem to make it more female-friendly?
“There’s nothing gendered about digital currency. There just aren’t many people in the ecosystem. Bitcoin Women’s Day is a chance to talk to more people – men and women, lawyers, bankers, tech and finance pros – about this rapidly growing industry. Tell your friends and family. I’d like my dad to use Bitcoin. Then I’d know that Bitcoin is booming.”
What are your goals for Sunday? What would be a perfect Bitcoin Women’s Day for you?
“We never anticipated Bitcoin Women’s Day would hit this big. The response has been overwhelming. It’s inspiring to see the whole community, men and women, unite around something as important as this. We’re thrilled by the excitement and psyched to spread #BitcoinWomensDay together on March 8th.”
Tweet your message of support for Bitcoin Women’s Day to: @womensday . Use these hashtags: #MakeItHappen, #BitcoinWomensDay, #IWD201r, and don’t forget to add #Bitcoin
Images provided by Bitcoin Women’s Day and Shutterstock.
Any ideas to make Bitcoin more user-friendly for women? Who can you Skype, email, Tweet, Facebook on Sunday about Bitcoin? Share above and comment below.
